


Talk to me

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Series: How to woo your local barista [26]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Barista Raphael, Demisexual Raphael Santiago, Established Relationship, Fluff, Homoromantic Raphael Santiago, Hugs, Idiots in Love, Insecure Raphael, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 11:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8747944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: "That's all the more reason to talk to him. You can't just assume his reaction and make your decision based on this assumption. Tell him about your insecurities instead of trying to avoid the topic. If you want to move in with him, you should find out what he wants and then decide together. And believe me, I know it's scary at first to even consider this step but it's the right decision - I see the way you look at him and talk about him."Raphael scrunched up his face sceptically and shrugged a little. Magnus did have a point, admittedly. He loved Simon so much that it was almost overwhelming sometimes and his boyfriend had given him absolutely no reason to expect rejection concerning the moving in together but for some reason, he was still insecure about it. This was Raphael's first relationship, after all."You're probably right," he admitted with a little shrug and tilted his head with a frown when Magnus snorted softly.





	

"Why don't you ask Sibyl to move in together?"

"Will you ever stop with these damn names?!"

"Not a chance." Magnus grinned at his best friend and did a poor job at trying to hide it behind his mug that was steaming with freshly brewed tea. Raphael glared at the other and kicked his feet up on the couch, his heels landing on one of Magnus's thighs and even though the impact should have hurt at least a tiny bit, the other didn't even flinch.

"So, how about you stop avoiding this question? Why not ask your _corazón_ to move in together? And don't tell me it's because his apartment is too small because you already practically live there and it doesn't seem to be a problem or he could simply move in here _or_ if the rent doesn't work out you could always move in with him for a while until you find an affordable and slightly bigger place for the two of you elsewhere," Magnus said and squinted at his best friend, clearly trying to figure him out but Raphael was mostly disappearing behind the newspaper where he looked for ads in search of an apartment.

"I'm not avoiding the question, I simply don't feel like elaborating on it," he finally answered dismissively and folded the paper in half with an annoyed sigh, throwing it onto the small coffee table and almost knocking the remote off in the process. Magnus raised an unimpressed eyebrow, sipped his tea with an obnoxious slurping noise just to get on Raphael's nerves.

"Or you're aware of the fact that your worries are probably unfounded and that I will convince you to ask him," Magnus replied and he really did have a point. Raphael's first thought when the other had told him about the plans of moving in with Alec had been, that maybe he should ask Simon if they should do the same. And he had wanted to ask Simon, the words had been right at the tip of his tongue on multiple occasions but for some reason, he had always chickened out.

"I know this expression. Stop thinking and talk to me, _mariposa_. I know you're stressing yourself out about finding a new place as quickly, even though I told you multiple times that there is no need to rush. I will stay here until you found something new - Alec knows and understands it. There is no timer for you to find a solution and if you feel like you want to get this over faster, my offer to help you still stands. I will help you with whatever you need and even though I know you won't accept it, I would also help you financially if you found something, to help with the first payments."

Raphael pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb with a heavy sigh. It felt like Magnus was a broken record lately with this little speech and he had long since given up to tell the other to drop it or that he didn't want his best friend's money. He knew Magnus could afford it, already begrudgingly accepted that the other paid 2/3 of their rent here because not only did Magnus come from a quite wealthy family but the club he worked at was pretty fancy as well, paying him a good amount of money. But Raphael still wanted to avoid accepting his best friend's offer as much as possible because he didn't like taking other people's money.

"I just don't want to be the reason you have to wait for weeks or months to move in with Alec. I know you can't wait to take this step and live with him," Raphael finally admitted with a small sounding voice and deflated a little. Magnus placed his mug on the table before one of his hands came to rest on the other's shin and the other on the back of Raphael's foot, massaging it slightly.

"I'm still with him most of the time and the only difference is, that all of our stuff isn't in the same apartment yet but other than that we basically already live together. Don't stress yourself out about it, please."

"I can't help it," Raphael shrugged and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking like a sulking child instead of the young man he was turning into. Magnus smiled softly, examining the other's face, before he pressed his fingertips gently against Raphael's foot, almost pinching it.

"Why won't you ask him?" Magnus got back to the initial question, his voice gentle and with the silent promise to be serious about the topic. Raphael glanced at his best friend from the corner of his eyes, huffed softly and returned his gaze to the newspaper he had looked at earlier.

"It's not even been a year," Raphael uttered after a beat of silence and he didn't have to elaborate for Magnus to understand.

"There are enough couples that move in together after being in a relationship for several months. There is no rule about when the right time to take this step is," Magnus replied and he knew what the other would say next, even before Raphael opened his mouth.

"Like you did with Camille? We know how that turned out."

"It's beyond ridiculous that you honestly try to compare your relationship to mine with Camille. You two are completely different. You two are good together and he's clearly good for you. He makes you happy, you two always spend every free minute with each other and despite the fact that I will probably never quite understand what you see in this guy, I'm convinced that it's the right decision to ask him. And I bet he will be thrilled to move in with you. I can't imagine him saying no. The boy is head over heels for you."

"I just don't want to screw this up. It's my first relationship and I don't want to move too quickly or make it weird. What if he doesn't want to move in together? He will feel bad about saying no." He knew it was probably a ridiculous concern and part of him knew the chance of Simon not agreeing was rather slim but he was still surprisingly insecure about it. The thought of living with Simon was the best thing he could imagine and the intensity of this emotion was almost scary because he knew it would hurt if Simon didn't feel like taking this step already.

"That's all the more reason to talk to him. You can't just assume his reaction and make your decision based on this assumption. Tell him about your insecurities instead of trying to avoid the topic. If you want to move in with him, you should find out what he wants and then decide together. And believe me, I know it's scary at first to even consider this step but it's the right decision - I see the way you look at him and talk about him."

Raphael scrunched up his face sceptically and shrugged a little. Magnus did have a point, admittedly. He loved Simon so much that it was almost overwhelming sometimes and his boyfriend had given him absolutely no reason to expect rejection concerning the moving in together but for some reason, he was still insecure about it. This was Raphael's first relationship, after all.

"You're probably right," he admitted with a little shrug and tilted his head with a frown when Magnus snorted softly.

"Probably? Definitely! You two are so sickeningly adorable together, I have no doubt that you two are ready for this step and from what you told me about Socrates, he seems to be _it_ for you - so why not go for it?" Magnus shrugged and the other rolled his eyes at the continued usage of stupid names but the way his best friend put this, it did sound kind of simple and Raphael felt stupid for backing away from asking his lover a few times already. His best friend was kind of right, he really felt like Simon was someone he could see himself with even in 10 years from now, even though they were both still pretty young.

Raphael looked at Magnus and then just nodded in reply, breathing a soft "Thank you" with a genuine smile tugging at the corners of his mouth but he did roll his eyes when Magnus basically leaped at him to suffocated him with a hug that lasted much longer than he was comfortable with but he still returned it and even buried his nose in the other's shoulder.

* * *

"You being nervous makes me nervous as well. What's going on, Rapha?" Simon cocked his head and blinked at his boyfriend, facing each other on the exact same couch that Raphael had this conversation with Magnus on the day before. He bit his bottom lip and glanced up at his lover from underneath his dark lashes, taking the other in. Simon was the most beautiful boy he had ever met - inside and out - and his heartbeat sped up a little more at the thought of maybe living together with the other soon.

"I have a question for you," Raphael started softly and couldn't help but reach for Simon's hand, tangling their fingers together.

"I don't think I'm ready to get married yet," the other blurted out without any warning and Raphael shut his mouth, eyebrow raising in surprised amusement. "That's not the question, is it?"

"No, it's not. I thought moving in together would be a more logical step before a proposal," he replied with a chuckle and the words were out before he even really realised it. Raphael had been stuck with this question in his throat for almost three weeks now, unable to get the words to leave his mouth and here they were, slipping off his tongue as easily as breathing and Simon didn't even look very surprised, instead his face lit up even more than the Christmas decorations that had been put up everywhere soon after the first snow.

"You're right, that's definitely more reasonable and I've got to admit that I was this close to suggesting this myself but I thought maybe you didn't want to live with me because you never mentioned anything," Simon admitted, a sheepish little smile on his lips and cheeks flushed a soft pink. The sight made Raphael's heart swell with affection for the other boy and he tugged at his lover's hand, silently asking him to move closer. And Simon did - in fact, he simply slumped against Raphael, arms wrapping around the younger boy and nose buried in his neck.

"When Magnus told me about his plan of moving in with Alec, my first thought was that I wanted to ask you to do the same but I wasn't sure if this might be too early or if this is what you wanted as well," Raphael said quietly, returning the embrace gently and nuzzling the side of Simon's neck, lips brushing the warm skin while speaking.

"That's definitely what I want," Simon answered the unspoken question.

"And what would you have done if it had actually been a proposal?" Raphael couldn't help but ask, despite his knowledge that it had been a joke to lighten the nervous mood but he was still curious.

"I would have told you that you're insane because we're still too young but I probably would have ended up saying yes anyway," the other laughed and sat up a little to look at Raphael again, cupping the younger boy's face with his hands and pressing his thumbs gently against his cheeks.

"I love you so much and I can't imagine ever wanting anyone else by my side but let's move in together first and wait at least one more year before an actual proposal. Also, I really expect you to kneel down and I want to help choose the ring."

"But I need the ring for the proposal, _idiota_ , how is that supposed to work? Maybe you should propose, if you have no faith in my ability to choose a nice ring for you," Raphael sighed but the corners of his mouth curled into a playful smirk and Simon answered with a laugh before peppering his lover's face with kisses, mumbling "I love you"s against his lips and cheeks, telling him that he couldn't wait to move in together.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Corazón_ \- Heart  
>  _Mariposa_ \- Butterfly


End file.
